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Hi all - this is my first post! I am sure someone out there has asked this question and I could comb through previous posts but I just haven't got the time!

In the fall we'll be starting LHTH for my son who is in preK. And my two older DDs (7 and 9) will be starting BHFHG. This way of doing homeschool is completely new to us. We are just doing a few days of math and reading right now in leftover workbooks from last year. (trying to keep us up to speed here).

My big concern is getting through it all! I think the biggest challenge will be my 4 year old who will be done well before the other two. I'm just trying to figure out how to juggle it all and make sure we are learning and staying on pace. Should I be utilizing my summers more in HOD? I could start it earlier than I had planned or just wing it and see whatever is leftover and finish up next summer?

So, those of you who have kids in different programs - how do you make it work? What are your thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

Jennifer

I just wanted to thank you for your post. I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions because I am wondering the same thing with our two sons. I hope to hear some good pointers.

Hi,
I am doing LHTH, LHFHG, and BHFHG with 4 kiddos right now-8,7,6, and 2 years old. The first thing that I will tell you is expect the first week to 2 weeks to be your figuring out what works for you and fits your schedule. Having a set schedule really helps me to see where I need to be. This post has a copy of my schedule to give you an idea of what I use.viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4058I schedule everything on it-recess, tv time, computer time, lunch...My oldest 2 have copies of the schedule to follow along their day with me. It has been my lifesaver.
I do my youngest first. His takes the least amount of time and it gives him that quality time with me so that he is happy to go watch LPB or a video or play trains for a while so that I can work with the older kids. Often one of my 2 olders help with schooling my youngest. In my living room, I have a bookshelf that has wood puzzles, board books, coloring books and crayons for my ds2 to use, enjoy, and make a mess with generally. I also have an aquadoodle at his disposal too. Having all of this available and in the open for him takes the stress off of me to keep finding him stuff to do or scheduling him time to play specific things. He has scheduled video time in the morning and afternoon. We don't have cable so LPB is on or a Leap Frog video or reader rabbit video for his tv time...If he is cranky, Thomas the Train will keep him happy.

Almost always through my schedule, there is a bigger kid that has computer time, video time, or play time while I work with the others. This breaks up their day and helps me with my youngest. They often entertain and play with him all throughout the day. My girls get a kick out of helping with their little brother. My ds doesn't so much get a kick out of it, but he plays well with ds2. I just have to keep an eye out for hurt feelings, wrestling, and other fun boy mischief.
Find a way to keep their books and work separate. We use 3 ring binders with dividers for our work and we have wild binders that the kids picked out themselves. Invest in a 3-hole punch. One of my kid's binders is a hot pink flamingo. LOL. She loves it though and I definitely can't confuse whose binder is whose. We use cubbies to keep the books separate and each kid has a cubbie for their books. I have a cubby for paper, pens, supplies...I have a plastic basket that I keep all library books and dvd's in so that I make sure we return them on time and that they aren't eaten by the house. This is more for if you are relying on the library for a lot of your books. Organization is my key to teaching multiple children.

Since your youngest is 4, you could pick up some preschool educational games for the computer. There is a wide selection and you can often get them cheap at Walmart and Target in the $9.99 computer cd section. You could schedule him some computer time and some video/tv time. Reader Rabbit is excellent at this age. Public television's web site is great too. The address is different for each state or I would link it for you. Word World and Super Why are excellent for preschoolers getting ready to learn to read. They are both public television. File folder games would work well for his age also. This site has some great free file folder games to make. http://www.childcareland.com/free.html
Often if the day is going well and the kids are being good and everything is on track, then if they ask during computer time if they can go to neopets or my ds6 likes to play playstation then I let them. I set a timer for the 30 minutes when they are supposed to be on computer or tv/video. I do this more for me. I lose track of when they are supposed to come back to the kitchen and work if not.
I keep non-messy snacks available for the kids to get whenever they want. I don't mean they snack the whole day, but if we are working and they want a snack it is readily available and they don't have to ask and we don't have to stop what we are doing to figure out a snack, get it out, get bowls or dishes out....I also keep the capri-sun style drinks handy for them as well. This makes life easy for me. They have easy snacks and drinks and I have less dishes and work. When they are done the paper goes in the trash.
Our day goes by fast and we don't veer off from the schedule. The kids know what to expect and so do I. The guides are super easy to teach from and it isn't bad doing more than one guide. Hope some of this was helpful and sorry I wrote a novel.
Val

Wow! Thanks for such a detailed description of your day! It sounds like it works really well! I will be implementing a lot of your ideas.

We do have a schedule we go off of for the summer but I know that will change once we start school full time. I was wondering - do you have much time for activities with homeschool groups during the day or not? I keep hearing everyone tell me I have to get my kids involved in homeschool groups so they have homeschool friends but I feel like I need to make sure we are learning and doing school right. I don't want to deprive them of friends or time with others becuase I don't want them to feel isolated. But I'm still trying to figure out how to fit that in there too. (perhaps I am thinking too much!)

Jennifer

We don't do homeschool groups. There isn't any really good co-ops or groups that I know of where I am at. My neighbors accross the street homeschool so they play with them outside a lot during recess and after our "school" time. We do activities the kids want to join and choose. The city has sports year round. dd7 and ds6 are about to start summer baseball. dd8 will have soccer in the fall. With church, sports, scouts...they have plenty of friends.
And of course my friends have kids and they play with their kids and so on. We aren't lacking for friends here. There are neighborhood kids to play with daily.
If I had a good homeschool group to go to, then I would probably do a 4 day week and the day off would be the day the group met.
Val

Ladies,

You are having a terrific discussion here and sharing such wonderful tips with one another! I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to move this post to the Main Board so that more moms can see it, as this is a testimonial type folder for Bigger Hearts. All new posts begin on the Main Board and that is where most of the traffic goes.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thanks Carrie! I meant to post it on the Main Board and somehow goofed up! Thanks for moving it here. I look forward to more input on this myself!

Jennifer

jenhill wrote:Hi all - this is my first post! I am sure someone out there has asked this question and I could comb through previous posts but I just haven't got the time!

In the fall we'll be starting LHTH for my son who is in preK. And my two older DDs (7 and 9) will be starting BHFHG. This way of doing homeschool is completely new to us. We are just doing a few days of math and reading right now in leftover workbooks from last year. (trying to keep us up to speed here).

My big concern is getting through it all! I think the biggest challenge will be my 4 year old who will be done well before the other two. I'm just trying to figure out how to juggle it all and make sure we are learning and staying on pace. Should I be utilizing my summers more in HOD? I could start it earlier than I had planned or just wing it and see whatever is leftover and finish up next summer?

So, those of you who have kids in different programs - how do you make it work? What are your thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer, and welcome to the HOD board! The answer is "YES!"; you can get it all done quite easily with a little beforehand planning. We've done 2 HOD programs for 3 years now, and it's been going great. LHTH takes about 20-30 minutes to do, and Bigger Hearts takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, so even if you put it all in a row, you'd only be doing school about 4 hours a day tops. If you are concerned about getting it all in, here are my best tips for making sure you can get it all done:
1. BEFORE you start teaching: Read the HOD guide's "Introduction" carefully and gather supplies noted there, have general art supplies on hand, make a tentative schedule (here is a great thread where ladies share their schedules):
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&p=16049
2. Start two weeks early, and start half-speed - doing the left side of the plans one day, and the right side of the plans the next day. You can do this for a few weeks and ease into doing it full-speed. (Of course, you can easily just jump right in and do it all full-speed right away if you'd rather.)
3. To make sure you don't stretch out the day, do NOT be tempted to add more things than are included in the guide, and try NOT to draw out discussions or add more questions, activities, assignments, guidelines, etc. than are already planned in the HOD guide - it is completely enough on its own merit and this will just draw out your day
4. Once you get started, stick to a routine, and you will find you'll hit your rhythm and be consistent at finishing school in about the same time every day.
5. Finally, don't be pressured into joining homeschool groups at first. I would try doing homeschool for about a month without attending any extras, and then if you want, revisit the idea of joining a group or co-op. Every family is different in their views about this, we've decided our dc can (and should) be each other's best friends, with family and cousins coming next in line. We are not part of any extracurricular groups and love that this allows me to finish homeschooling consistently every day, keeps our dc playing with one another and being each other's best friends, lets me set my own schedule with no need to plan around others, and saves money that I'd otherwise be spending on groups (i.e. membership dues, fuel, materials, etc.). We prefer to spend our money on homeschool materials I'll use every day, and things that make free time fun at home (i.e. outdoor pool from Walmart, 3-wheelers, baseball bases, DVD's collection, educational computer games, etc.). However, this is just what our family has decided, you will know better what your family's goals are once you've started homeschooling for a bit.

In Christ,
Julie

We have two days left in Beyond then we'll take a couple weeks off and start Bigger for ds8 and LHTH for dd4.

I don't see it being a problem since LHTH is short, I'll just do a little with dd while ds is doing an assignment.

I have a relaxed schedule. It is not done out by time, just the order we do things. I had it by time but we never followed it. I really should get on track better.

I like the idea of starting at half speed. I plan on doing that as we are in the middle of a short distance move. I pack a few boxes each day, we're movign in a month

Katheriene
dd8 Beyond
dd4
dd2

Jennifer and Katheriene,

I had a wonderful school year last year using Bigger and LHTH! I just think it was the perfect combo for me starting out with HOD. LHTH is short and sweet...but very effective. My little 2 LOVED it thoroughly!

We had an order to our day that we fell into. (I'm quite sure I'm going to have to be a little more structured as we move into Preparing and LHFHG this coming year. But I'm also sure that those 2 programs will be very doable and enjoyable as we move along. )

We have a dairy farm...so our start time for the day varied GREATLY. (Something that kind of drives be crazy...but the Lord has really used to help develop patience in me this year. ) When we got up in the morning, Grant would start on something independent like his Cheerful Cursive, English, Copywork of the poetry, piano practice, violin practice. Somtimes one, sometimes none, sometimes all of these were done before Dad came in for breakfast.

We like to eat with Dad in the morning and do our family devotions then. (We tried moving that time, and it was too inconsistent.) After breakfast, the little 2 play together and Grant and I did the entire left page of Bigger. We headed to a bedroom upstairs to avoid distractions. We usually started with the history, then poetry, then Bible, then hymn singing, and ended that time with the rotating box that goes with history. Then we came down to the table where we did dictation, and I started him on math.

This was when I coralled the little 2 and did LHTH...also hiding in a bedroom upstairs so that Grant wouldn't be distrated by all our fun.

This left us with storytime, science, and DITHOR to finish with Grant. Depending on how much work Grant completed before breakfast, when Dad was popping in for lunch, etc., we sometimes were able to finish before lunch, sometimes we finished after lunch. If we weren't done before lunch, we usually waited until the little 2 were taking naps to finish so that all 3 of them got a big chunk of playtime (and I got a break ).

We could have easily finished by lunch time every day if Grant didn't take piano and violin lessons. So if you don't add anything like that in, your days will be shorter than mine. (I teach piano and my mother-in-law a mile away teaches violin, and Grant is really quite good at both so we're sticking with them.)

You're in for a GREAT year! I have so many good memories of time spent with my kids every day from LHTH and Bigger. I need one of those happy, contented, distant-look smilies.

Kathleen

I can't believe I'm just now seeing this! Thank you Kathleen for your post. Your day sounds so smooth. Surely it's not like that everyday.

that's what I need to do, figure out a better balance between ds's and dd's work.

What time does your day start?

You gave me a good idea on the independent work. I could have ds do cursive or some English first thing. The bad thing is I've allowed him to get into the habit of TV first because he was waking up at 6 or 6:30am and I wasn't getting up until bout 7:30. He's been sleeping a bit later now, so I just need to get myself up by 7:30. I need to get myself a disciplined routine and that will help ds. I have gotten MUCH better this year about no phone for me until lunch but now it's coputer time.